Opinion: Democrats’ 5 responses to the State of the Union show internal division

by Boris Epshteyn, Chief Political Analyst

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2010 file photo, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. Ethical clouds are hanging over at least a dozen lawmakers but in most cases they don't appear to be having much of an impact on their re-election prospects. Most center on complicated financial dealings rather than the headline-grabbing, sex-driven Internet scandals that have driven others from office over the past year and a half. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg, File)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Boris Epshteyn formerly served as a Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign and served in the White House as Special Assistant to The President and Assistant Communications Director for Surrogate Operations.

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) - Historically, the party not in the White House used to give a single rebuttal to the State of the Union.

This year, the Democrats gave five, that’s right, five different responses to President Trump’s address.

Among them was a speech by Congressman Joe Kennedy III, which was the official rebuttal. We also heard from Sen. Bernie Sanders representing the progressive wing of the Democrats. There was a Spanish version of the rebuttal given by Elizabeth Guzman. She is a freshman delegate in Virginia’s House of Delegates. Former Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Maryland spoke on behalf of the Working Families Party. And then there was Congresswoman Maxine Waters representing, well, herself.

Make no mistake about it, not being able to come together behind one rebuttal to the State of the Union is bad for Democrats. I also thought it was a bad idea for Republicans to have multiple responses in the past. It means that the party is divided. The Democrats do not seem to have a common message except for opposing the president because he apparently offends their sensibilities.

Congresswoman Waters stood out for her over-the-top rhetoric in blasting the president’s speech. She was especially appalled that the president dared to call on Americans to set aside their differences and come together. In a ridiculous moment, even for her, Maxine Waters called for a parental guidance to appear on television every time the president comes on.

Here is the bottom line: Democrats definitely want to remain a viable political party. To achieve that, they are going to need a better common message than being against the president across the board and opposing unity.